Publisher's Synopsis
Immigration can change the national composition of a state, with the consequences for the self perception of the main ethnic group representing the state. In Western Europe this has required a modification of the traditional view of the state as culturally homogeneous. Indeed, every aspect of political life has been touched by the issue of immigration during the 1980s and 1990s in most Western European countries.;A central role in European immigration and refugee policy is played by the Federal Republic of Germany. Hans-Ake Persson here analyzes German immigration policy through time and the determining factors behind it. The author argues that the view of migration and aliens in the Federal Republic should primarily be based on a knowledge of the history and tradition of the state.;Further parts of the text explore French post-war immigration and refugee policy and French domestic politics as well as the reception of Hungarian refugees in a time when the international climate made the issue into an urgent humaitarian task for the receiving countries. The small, ethically homogeneous states of Swedeen and Denmark are compared with Canada, which is the classical model of a country of immigration with the conception of multicultural sociey as a central element.
